Toasted Longings

There are probably only a few people who are aware of my love for toast. Especially peanut butter toast. Sometimes with cinnamon-sugar sprinkled on top (if you've never tried it, you should). Unfortunately, here in Korea, I don't have a toaster (oh the horror!). That is going to change today.

Today after school I am going to march myself over to E-Mart (the three-story store that has almost anything one might need) and buy myself the $20 toaster I've been eyeing for oh, about three months. A few of my friends here were lucky enough to have a toaster included in their apartments when they moved in. Mine, on the other hand, came equipped with a microwave, rice cooker and hot shot tea kettle to heat water (which, just like heated floors, I don't think I can ever live without again). I thought I'd try to go for as long as possible without a toaster and try to live more like a Korean, but I just can't take it any longer!

I want toast. I want buttered toast, and peanut butter toast and toast with jam. And this evening, I'm gonna get it.

There are certainly other things I miss in addition to the option of having toast as often as I'd like. For starters, and speaking of toast, you can't find good bread here. The only loaves of bread in the grocery store are soft, fluffy white bread. I found a wheat-ish type of bread one time that was about $3 for a half loaf, so unfortunately that won't be coming home with my other routine grocery items. I thought I found some good (although still fluffy) wheat bread with walnuts in it, only to find after three days of eating it that the little chunks were not walnuts but red bean.

Ack! Red bean is EVERYWHERE here, inside every imaginable type of treat and many other types of food. It's not uncommon to buy a pastry at a bakery, only to find a mysterious red bean in the middle. Oh, the disappointment when you're expecting something like cinnamon-apple or berries in the middle!

I also miss cheese. There is NO good cheese here, with the exception of Laughing Cow squares or a small loaf of Land o' Lakes Jack cheese--both for about $8 and still hard to find in town. BUT, I am told I can buy a one pound block of Tillamook cheese--cheddar, pepperjack and more--at the Costco in Busan for about $8, a small price to pay for the feeling of being in cheese heaven after four months of NO cheese in my life. Going to Costco is on my list of things to do--and soon.

Coffee. This is another thing that I desperatly miss here. Even a small, conservative city like Jinju is ridden with coffee shops and truthfully, they aren't too bad. Coffee and espresso is a little on the expensive side in these shops though, probably comparable to buying coffee in New York City or something. And interestingly, regular brewed coffee is nearly just as expensive as espresso drinks, at over $3 for a small brewed coffee (espresso drinks are closer to $4 for a small). AND none of the coffee shops (except the Starbucks) have milk or cream set out, so if you order a $3 coffee you're gonna drink it black. In fact, brace yourselves for this--I have actually been drinking green tea in the mornings at home now instead of coffee because I am so tired of the instant, sugary cofee that is most accessible here. UGH. There are only a few options for REAL coffee, and the 6 ounce bag of coffee beans is nearly $10!

I didn't set out to write all about food here, but I think that's where this post is turning to, because the next thing that comes to mind is cereal! Just like toast, cereal has played a HUGE role in my dietary habits for as long as I can remember. Cereal is absolutely one of my favorite foods, and I'll take it as a snack or an entire meal. I'll even happily eat it dry, without (soy) milk. Just like the abovementioned foods, cereal is available here but is extremely expensive and in small boxes so when I buy cereal, I buy it knowing that it's a luxury purchase and will likely be gone by the next day.

I need to stop. I am making myself hungry--and making you bored!